In the air: Google is close with the Telegraph

For the second year running, Google UK handed its annual accounts early to the Daily Telegraph, rather than filing them first to Companies House – although this year it chose late September, rather than burying the news in August during the Olympics.

Why might the web giant favour the Telegraph? Apart from the two companies having offices opposite each other in Victoria, Google UK boss Dan Cobley had a spell as a non-executive director on the Telegraph board last year. Giving the paper first sight of the results didn’t do much to defuse the controversy over Google’s corporation tax avoidance – it paid just £11.6 million on £3 billion of sales – as that made the Telegraph’s front page.

* Following this column’s story about Guardian Media Group holding a board meeting in New York, the US charm offensive continues with a huge upbeat profile of editor Alan Rusbridger (pictured) in The New Yorker. Two good details: Rusbridger will stay as editor “a while” longer (many think he wants to beat predecessor Peter Preston’s 20-year stint by lasting until 2015). And Roger Alton of The Times is quoted as saying he would not have published one of The Guardian’s biggest recent scoops from Wikileaks “in that form. I thought it was taking material and throwing it at the market without looking at what damage it caused”. The New Yorker didn’t mention Alton left as editor of sister paper The Observer after he fell out with Rusbridger.

* Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail since 1992, will continue in the role after his 65th birthday in November. “Paul Dacre is not stepping down,” Viscount Rothermere, chairman of parent company DMGT, tells Tatler, squashing speculation about the matter. “Indeed, he has just agreed to a new contract.”